Majority of Sindhis want freedom of Sindh from Pakistan. I myself am a Sindh freedom believer, although I was a civil and political rights activist and journalist in Pakistan, and now an analyst and writer. Five millions gathered in Karachi on March 23, 2014 to demand international community's intervention for the freedom of Sindh.

What are the reasons
behind the Sindhi's will for the freedom of their historical motherland? A pre?cised
details in thirty points are enough to unfold the truth behind the subjugation
of Sindh, and the real face of federalism in Pakistan.

1.
Sindh was made part of Pakistan against the will of Sindhi people. This will
was expressed through the provincial election of 1946, in which All India
Muslim League (AIML) won lesser seats against the opponents.

2.
Sindh waged three wars for the freedom of Sindh during 1843-1857, 1890-1899 and
1940-1944. The last war although waged for the freedom of Sindh, was carried in
understanding with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose by Pir Pagaro Soriah Badishah,
Syed Shbghatullah Shah. Thousands of Sindhis were killed by Colonial British Forces
(army and air force), and their families were jailed in the concentrations
camps in Sindh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. A large number of fighters of
1940-1943 war were executed as well as jailed in Pakistan until 1965.

3.
Pakistan was created on the illegitimate basis of Muslim nationhood of Indian
Muslims, which is known as two-nation theory within united India. This theory
practically lost its validity when East Pakistan became Bangladesh on the basis
of ethno-linguistic nationhood. In Pakistan, Sindhi deeply feel the negation of
their 'Sindhi' identity, which is five thousand years old. They just cannot
sacrifice their thousands years nationhood over the seventy years of Pakistan.

4.
Pakistan Government created an environment of terror against Sindhi Hindus
after partition of India. Sindh Chief Minister ordered action against the
culprits involved in harassing and killing Sindhi Hindus. They were Indian
Partition refugees Muslims. M. A. Jinnah was a Sindhi. He asked Sindh
Government to take action against miscreants and protect Hindus. But Prime
Minister Nawab Liaqat Ali Khan, an AIML leader who migrated from divided India
to Pakistan, dismissed Sindh Chief Minister. That was the reason Sindhi Hindus
started their mass migration from Sindh to India in1948 despite the fact that
partition was held in 1947.

5.
Sovereignty of Sindh has been violated in Pakistan at various times. Karachi
was illegitimately separated from Sindh against the will of the Sindhi nation
in 1948. Some historical parts of Sindh were separated in late 1960s and
annexed with Punjab. Punjab Police has recklessly been attacking bordering
villages and towns of Sindh illegally similarly to what Pakistan Army does at
the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan. At least 10 such
incidents have been reported by the Sindhi newspapers in last six months.

6.
The status of province-hood of Sindh was canceled and a unitary political
system was adopted. Besides,
reading, writing and name-tags in Sindhi and Bengali languages were also banned
during 1960s

7.
Hundreds of thousands acres of fertile lands of Sindh that became arable due to
the commissioning of Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barrages in Sindh on river Indus
were allocated to Punjabis as well as gifted to military officials and Punjabi
civil bureaucracy.

8.
The financial assets of Sindh were handed over to Punjab. Even the
archeological assets that were found from Moen-Jo-Daro and other sites of Sindh
were shifted to Lahore.

9.
Water rights of Sindh are being violated by Pakistan and Punjab has been
illegally constructed barrages on the river Indus despite the objections by the
lower riparian Sindh. Pakistani establishment still seems to be keen on the
construction of controversial Kalabagh Dam, which is thrice rejected by Sindh
Assembly as well as the Provincial Assemblies of Kyber Pakhtunkhuwa (KP) and
Balochistan.

10.
In last sixty-seven years of Pakistan, Sindhis are not given their
proportionate share in the Pakistan Army, security agencies and civil
bureaucracy.

11.
Federations earlier were not allowing the formation of Sind Regiment within
Pakistan Army; however when Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto finally ordered
creation of it, Sindhi were not recruited in it. Sindhi even today are less
than one percent in Sind Regiment. Besides, Sindhi and Baloch are hardly
recruited in Foreign Services. Sindh has no say in the foreign Policy of
Pakistan.

12.
Under Birtish Raj, Sind Rifle Police was responsible for guarding and
protecting the borders of Sindh. After Indian partition, Pakistan re-named the force
as Pakistan Rangers and ousted Sindhis from it. Today, international borders of
Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa (KP) province with Afghanistan are guarded by
the local Pashtuns through Frontier Constabulary - KP, with Iran at Balochistan
province by Frontier Constabulary - Balochistan which is composed of Pashtun
and to some extent Baloch, at the borders with India at Punjab by Pakistan
Rangers - Punjab composed of Punjabis and at Sindh borders with India is
guarded by Pakistan Rangers - Sindh composed of Punjabis. Hence Sindhis are not
allowed to protect their own international borders.

13.
Punjabi civilian and military officials are usually shifted as senior officials
in Sindh Police through the process of cadre change.

14.
Multi-National Companies (MNCs) extract Uranium and Copper (Australia), Oil and
Gas (USA, UK and EU countries) ), Coal (China) and Gold
(extracting companies and their country origin is kept secret) from Sindh
because Sindh is one of natural resource richest belt of South Asia.
Unfortunately, Sindhis are not only refused employment opportunities in these
MNCs, the royalties of these resources are taken by the federal government.
Even the funds allocated for the Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) are not
spent on the development in the districts of Sindh.

15.
The educational institutions of Karachi city, the capital of Sindh, form Sindhi
biased admission policies therefore it usually becomes hard for
ethno-linguistic Sindhi students to get admission in the universities.

16.
Demography of Sindh is being attempted to be changed. An intentional mass migration
of Punjabis from Pakistani Punjab, Afghan people, Biharis from Bangladesh, and
Rohangyan Muslim from Burma are being settled in Sindh in a bid to convert
Sindhis into minority on their historical homeland. Fake Permanent Residence
Certificates (PRCs) and Domiciles are issued to non-Sindhi outsiders so that
they may get the employments on the quota as well as resources of Sindh. Even
victimization of Sindhi Hindus in Sindh is being done to force their migration
from Sindh to India and elsewhere in lieu of that non-Sindhis from within
Pakistan and outside are being settled in Sindh.

17.
Before 1947 Partition of India, Sindh was having an internationally acclaimed
cricket team, which even defeated some international teams in the test matches,
the popular of which was the defeat of Australian cricket team in Karachi.
Sindhis are denied participation in Pakistani Cricket Team, Football Team and
Hockey.

18.
Pakistani establishment is involved in manipulating the data as well as facts
and figures in manner that it may ridicule Sindhis within Pakistan and
internationally.

19.
Pakistani authorities have been forging the census of Sindh in a manner that
the population of Sindhi may be depicted smaller.

20.
Sindhi is being refused to be given the status of national language in
Pakistan. Although Sindh is in Pakistan today, India has given Sindhi a
national language status.

21.
Hindus are around 8 million in Sindh but the figures by the establishment of
Pakistan are deducing them to below 1.5 million.

22.
Sindh contributes largest share in the income, revenue and overall economy of
Pakistan but is given lesser share in return from the federation.

23.
Sindh Assembly once resolute / legislated for forming the Army of Sindh some
years ago but that hasn't become materialized as yet.

24. "The agenda that has to be discussed in Sindh Assembly are
scrutinized by the scrutiny unit working under the Corps Commander office of
Pakistan Army's Karachi Corps before the Assembly sessions."

25.
Institutes like National Testing Services (NTS) are used in Pakistan for the
admissions in the educational institutions as well as candidate selections for
the employer departments in a bid to ensure merit. Ethnic and quality frauds
have been detected and scams have been made public by no other than Sindh
Government and Sindh Assembly itself. This practice does not only sidelines rights
of Sindhi in the educational institutes as well as employment, but also
downgrades the educational services and governance in the province.

26.
Election frauds, pre-election riggings and voting at the gun point have killed
essence of democratic process in Sindh through which the will of Sindhi people
and their voter majority has always been humiliated.

27.
Religious extremism is being patronized in a bid to control and fragmentize the
natural resource Sindh through state sponsored proxy
extremists.

28.
Top level Sindhi leadership and intelligentsia has been killed directly by the
establishment or through the indirect means that include Mohammad Ali Jinnah
(founder of Pakistan died due to health negligence), Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
(hanged), Benazir Bhutto (killed in garrison city of Rawalpindi), Murteza
Bhutto (extra-judicially killed in Karachi), Bashir Qureshi (poisoned near
Hyderbad), Shahnanwaz Bhutto (poisoned in France), Fazil Rahu (instigated
murder), Nazir Abasi (killed in the torture cell), Muzafar Bhutto (killed in
torture cell) and Asim Akhund (medicated death).

29.
A large numbers of activists have been enforcedly disappeared and killed by the
military and armed forces intelligence agencies. Sain GM Syyed was kept in
house arrest for thirty years, Rasool Bux Palijo was jailed for ten years and
Asif Ali Zardari was jailed for eleven years and hundreds of others were jailed
at various times. These murders, detentions and extra judicial killings were
made irrespective of leadership's political ideology.

30.
Pakistani establishment has pushed Karachi into violence and has resisted the
integration process between indigenous Sindhis and Urdu speaking Sindhis.

A
similar, and in some manners worst, situation is also is being observed in
Balochistan. Pakistan establishment has neither intentions nor capacity to
undone all these factors, therefore Sindh and Balochistan will always march
ahead on the path of freedom, and probably may reach the destination sooner or
later.

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About The Author

Zulfiqar Shah is a stateless activist, analyst, and researcher. Although he is a refugee, and living a life in exile, he is a born Sindhi and South Asian. Currently he lives in India.